Storytellers | February 2017

Meet our Contributors for this issue

GABRIELLA MARKSPhoto Contest
“Pure intuition” drew Gabriella Marks to New Mexico a decade ago. The Santa Fe–based photographer knows why she stays: high-desert light, lenticular (lens-shaped) clouds, and growing squash in dry clay soil. Her work has been featured in museums and earned her the presidency of the New Mexico chapter of the American Society of Media Photographers. This year, she joined the team judging our photo contest. “The sheer breadth of scope of the subject matter was breathtaking,” she says. “But through all of the images, one thing was clear: a vision of New Mexico created by people who passionately care about this unique and idiosyncratic place.” See her work at gabriellamarksphotography.com

ELIZABETH WELLS
Hitched in the Heart of NM
Albuquerque’s Elizabeth Wells follows brides and grooms all over the Southwest, photographing more than 30 weddings a year. Owner of Elizabeth Wells Photography, she seeks to preserve each couple’s story—and does it so well that we chose to feature four of them set in picture-perfect New Mexico locales. Working close to home is a favorite, since New Mexico offers “some of the most beautiful, epic landscapes in the world.” She and her fellow-photographer husband, Scott, are raising two girls, Haley and Cait. “I am so humbled that this business has allowed me to meet people from all over the country, each with their own unique stories and experiences,” she says. Learn more at elizabethwellsphoto.com

STEPHEN BOHANNONAssistant Art Director
The magazine’s resident cartographer, Stephen Bohannon loves the theme for 2017: The Heart of NM. “It’s a chance to get to the kernel of truth,” he says. “What makes New Mexico tick?” For Bohannon, it is the wide-open spaces and intimate connections. “I’m often immersed in the wilderness—out on public land, volunteering with others to restore habitat. It’s a great way to give back to the state that gave me the space to find myself.” His drive for connection is further fueled by a love of board games, disc golf, home brewing, and amateur astronomy. Even his hobbies have hobbies.